Self-propelled field artillery weapons have been widely used and in some of these the weapon is loaded and fired from the outside of the vehicle while in others the gun crew is sheltered within the armor of the vehicle during loading and firing of the weapon. More recently, the United States Army self-propelled artillery weapon M109 has been widely used and in this weapon the gun crew is housed within the armored vehicle body during service of the weapon. The Model M109 and similar vehicles usually mount a 155 mm gun or an 8-inch gun, and both of these are separately loading, that is, the projectile is loaded in the chamber followed by the propellant and the detonator is then put in place to complete the loading of the weapon.
Such fast self-propelled field artillery weapons usually carry ammunition within the armored housing of the vehicle but this ammunition must be readily and promptly resupplied during active engagement of the weapon. Heretofore, such ammunition supply has been carried out by conventional vehicles such as trucks, half-tracked vehicles, and the like, depending upon the terrain, but it is highly desirable that these field artillery weapons be supported by support vehicles which are at least equally fast and equally maneuverable as well as provided with armored protection for the supply vehicle during movement and also during its supply function adjacent the weapon.
To this end, the field artillery support vehicle of the present invention is mounted upon the chassis of the M109 field artillery weapon or other suitable similar chassis, and is provided with an armored housing mounted thereon providing armored protection for the driver of the vehicle and crew of the vehicle, as well as armored protection for the ammunition carried by the support vehicle. Racks are provided within the vehicle for the individual projectiles and compartments are provided for the propellant charges and particular means are also provided for loading the vehicle at an ammunition dump and for feeding the projectiles and propellant from the vehicle to the gun when the vehicle is in gun-supply position.